Monthly Archives: December 2007

How much “truth” do we tell kids?
Are “myths, fables, and other good story constructs important? Horodotus vs. Thucydides Just the facts or don’t let the facts get in the way of a good story?

How do we teach kids to be good critical thinkers whilst still keeping up good stories?

With the advent of YouTube, and other web pages, how do we teach kids to think critically and still keep alive “fables”?
– The use of allagory in teaching? General Guidelines for Teaching with Folk Tales: http://www.ferrum.edu/applit/studyg/studygfolk.htm

Advantages of using Allegory (Folk Tale) in Education

Pitfalls of using Allegory (Folk Tale) in Education

Length

Fun!

They are memorable.

Many variations make them easy to compare.

Universal themes

Because they use universal themes, they have many interpretations and are meaningful.

Links to the oral and written literatures of the world.

Links to popular culture and many academic subjects and skills.

Enhance transitions from childhood to adult life.

Builds connections between children and adults.

Break the habit of referring to the “writer” as an original source or the “real ” or “correct” version.

Students may react negatively to other cultural norms and will need them explained before going too far into the folk tale.

Beware that the folk tale doesn’t establish a stereotype by generalizing the culture of a region or a people.

Some have a hard time analyzing stories they love from their youth.

Not all folk tale lore is intended for entertaining children. Some contain adult themes.

Because there are many different versions, details from one can “transfer” to another version of the same tale and potentially confuse students.

Students will need additional instruction in documenting oral, audio, visual, and unpublished sources.

Authority- how does this fit in to the picture?

Allegory
– J.R.R. Tolkein & The Lord Of The Rings series

– C.S. Lewis & The Chronicles of Narnia series

– Aesop and “Fables”

– Bill Bennett and his series on American Tales

– Davy Crocket Folk Tale
– Dr. Jan Brunvand: Urban Legends

Media Literacy:

http://www.medialit.org/

TRY YAHOO FOR TEACHERS (BETA)

http://beta.teachers.yahoo.com

We mentioned Yahoo’s upcoming social network for teachers in

September – and we’ve been checking back from time to time to see

what progress, if any, might have been made. We were intrigued,

frankly, by the idea of a professionally supported social network by

and for teachers. Yahoo has now posted its “beta” version (meaning

“we haven’t worked out all the kinks but would love for you to try it

out”). So try it! One cool feature – any posted lesson plans or

teaching ideas can be rated by users and you can see the items with

the highest ratings (and the most downloads) easily. There’s no cost.

To get into the beta edition, you’ll need this info: username –

yhallpass / password – g0bbler (that’s a zero, not the letter “oh).

Check out all the features and tell them what you think. – Source: John Norton MiddleWeb email newsletter.

Note: This is a beta project. Many areas are under development and navigating is still a little clunky. There are a lack of people on the site yet and so the social networking side of things hasn’t quite taken off yet, it appears.

During my second month of college, our professor gave us a pop quiz. I was a conscientious student and had breezed through the questions until I read the last one:

‘What is the first name of the woman who cleans the school?’
Surely this was some kind of joke. I had seen the cleaning woman several times. She was tall, dark-haired and in her 50’s, but how would I know her name?

I handed in my paper, leaving the last question blank. Just before class ended, one student asked if the last question would count toward our quiz grade.

‘Absolutely, ‘ said the professor. ‘In your careers, you will meet many people. All are significant. They deserve your attention and care, even if all you do is smile and say ‘hello.’

I’ve never forgotten that lesson. I also learned her name was Dorothy.

2. – Second Important Lesson – Pickup in the Rain

One night, at 11:30 p.m., an older African American woman was standing on the side of an Alabama highway trying to endure a lashing rain storm. Her car had broken down and she desperately needed a ride. Soaking wet, she decided to flag down the next car.

A young white man stopped to help her, generally unheard of in those conflict-filled 1960’s. The man took her to safety, helped her get assistance and put her into a taxicab.

She seemed to be in a big hurry, but wrote down his address and thanked him. Seven days went by and a knock came on the man’s door. To his surprise, a giant console color TV was delivered to his home. A special note was attached.

It read:
‘Thank you so much for assisting me on the highway the other night. The rain drenched not only my clothes, but also my spirits. Then you came along. Because of you, I was able to make it to my dying husband’s bedside just before he passed away… God bless you for helping me and unselfishly serving others.’

Sincerely,
Mrs. Nat King Cole.

3 – Third Important Lesson – Always remember those who serve.

In the days when an ice cream sundae cost much less, a 10-year-old boy entered a hotel coffee shop and sat at a table. A waitress put a glass of water in front of him.

‘How much is an ice cream sundae?’ he asked.
‘Fifty cents,’ replied the waitress.

The little boy pulled is hand out of his pocket and studied the coins in it.

‘Well, how much is a plain dish of ice cream?’ he inquired.

By now more people were waiting for a table and the waitress was growing impatient.

‘ Thirty-five cents,’ she brusquely replied.

The little boy again counted his coins.

‘I’ll have the plain ice cream,’ he said.

The waitress brought the ice cream, put the bill on the table and walked away The boy finished the ice cream, paid the cashier and left. When the waitress came back, she began to cry as she wiped down the table. There, placed neatly beside the empty dish, were two nickels and five pennies..

You see, he couldn’t have the sundae, because he had
to have enough left to leave her a tip.
4 – Fourth Important Lesson. – The obstacle in Our Path.

In ancient times, a King had a boulder placed on a roadway. Then he hid himself and watched to see if anyone would remove the huge rock. Some of the king’s wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by and simply walked around it. Many loudly blamed the King for not keeping the roads clear, but none did anything about getting the stone out of the way.

Then a peasant came along carrying a load of vegetables. Upon approaching the boulder, the peasant laid down his burden and tried to move the stone to the side of the road. After much pushing and straining, he finally succeeded. After the peasant picked up his load of vegetables, he noticed a purse lying in the road where the boulder had been. The purse contained many gold coins and a note from the King indicating that the gold was for the person who removed the boulder from the roadway. The peasant learned what many of us never understand!

Every obstacle presents an opportunity to improve our condition.
5 – Fifth Important Lesson – Giving When it Counts…

Many years ago, when I worked as a volunteer at a hospital, I got to know a little girl named Liz who was suffering from a rare & serious disease. Her only chance of recovery appeared to be a blood transfusion from her 5-year old brother, who had miraculously survived the same disease and had developed the antibodies needed to combat the illness. The doctor explained the situation to her little brother, and asked the little boy if he would be willing to give his blood to his sister.

I saw him hesitate for only a moment before taking a deep breath and saying, ‘Yes I’ll do it if it will save her.’ As the transfusion progressed, he lay in bed next to his sister and smiled, as we all did, seeing the color returning to her cheek. Then his face grew pale and his smile faded.

He looked up at the doctor and asked with a trembling voice, ‘Will I start to die right away’.

Being young, the little boy had misunderstood the doctor; he thought he was going to have to give his sister all of his blood in order to save her.

A quick check on Snopes, shows these are mostly false (surely the Nat King Cole one at least), but the thoughts are valuable.

In Podcast #15 (PD on the Cheap), we continue our discussion of NMSA07 Conference sessions. Shawn takes a look at Project LEAD which is centered around Pre-service and service teachers. However, the ideas can be used in a variety of settings. We also discuss some of strategies to improve literacy skills. As usual, there are some good links included.

(Note: due to some personal time constraints, this podcast is available only as an mp3).

Project LEAD: Developing Middle Level Teacher Candidates.

Goals: Make a difference in the classroom

Teacher retention

Support network

Method: In-Service and Pre-Service Teacher Book Club

Book selected and chapters assigned to participants.

In-Service teachers receive a stipend and pre-service were grant supported.

Reading Next is a cutting-edge report that combines the best research currently available with well-crafted strategies for turning that research into practice. Informed by five of the nation’s leading researchers, Reading Next charts an immediate route to improving adolescent literacy. The authors outline 15 key elements of an effective literacy intervention, and call on public and private stakeholders to invest in the literacy of middle and high school students today, while simultaneously building the knowledge base.

The Fifteen Elements of Effective Adolescent Literacy Programs
This report delineates fifteen elements aimed at improving middle and high school literacy
achievement right now.
1. Direct, explicit comprehension instruction, which is instruction in the strategies and
processes that proficient readers use to understand what they read,including summarizing,
keeping track of one’s own understanding, and a host of other practices.
2. Effective instructional principles embedded in content, including language arts teachers
using content-area texts and content-area teachers providing instruction and practice in
reading and writing skills specific to their subject area.
3. Motivation and self-directed learning, which includes building motivation to read and learn
and providing students with the instruction and supports needed for independent learning
tasks they will face after graduation.
4. Text-based collaborative learning, which involves students interacting with one another
around a variety of texts.
5. Strategic tutoring, which provides students with intense individualized reading, writing, and
content instruction as needed.
6. Diverse texts, which are texts at a variety of difficulty levels and on a variety of topics
7. Intensive writing, including instruction connected to the kinds of writing tasks students
will have to perform well in high school and beyond.
8. A technology component, which includes technology as a tool for and a topic of literacy
instruction and practice that takes place in language arts and regular classes.
9. Ongoing formative assessment of students, which is informal, often daily assessment of
how students are progressing under current instructional practices.
10. Extended time for literacy, which includes approximately two to four hours of literacy
instruction and practice that takes place in language arts and content-area classes.
11. Professional development that is both long term and ongoing.
12. Ongoing summative assessment of students and programs, which is more formal and
provides data that are reported for accountability and research purposes.
13. Teacher teams, which are interdisciplinary teams that meet regularly to discuss students and
align instruction.
14. Leadership, which can come from principals and teachers who have a solid understanding of
how to teach reading and writing to the full array of students present in schools.
15. A comprehensive and coordinated literacy program, which is interdisciplinary and
interdepartmental and may even coordinate with out-of-school organizations and the
local community.

Today, more than six million of the nation’s secondary school students fall well short of grade-level expectations in reading and writing. Recognizing the urgency of this literacy crisis among middle and high school students, policymakers in all parts of the country have begun to implement a wide range of new programs and services designed to help struggling adolescent readers catch up in essential literacy skills, particularly reading fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. However—and as this report argues—if students are to be truly prepared for the sophisticated intellectual demands of college, work, and citizenship, then these reforms will not be enough. Even as their schools help them to catch up in the basics, students also must be taught the advanced literacy skills that will enable them to succeed in the academic content areas—particularly the core content areas of math, science, English, and history.

Digital Natives:
Those who are growing up knowing and using technology. They haven’t known anything else.

Digital Immigrants:
Those who are learning the technology but have learned a different process.

Do kids really learn differently? How do we adults view technology vs kids?

What are we preparing kids for? What jobs will exist? What skills will be needed?

If You’re Going to TEACH them, you have to REACH them!
Podcasting
Blogging
Web 2.0

Some places to help teachers:
Youtube comparable:Teacher Tube – Kind of like Youtube but focused on education. Has a variety of teacher generated videos. Has a lot of videos done by educators. These can be imbedded on a blog or a web site.

Youth Created Media – Video created by youths. Good for examples of what kids can do.Video Lessons from around the web. Not directly educational. Rather this site promotes learning. United Streaming: This is a for pay site. Includes a lot of videos that are short and tied to standards. Many school districts have an account with them.

Web offerings:

Teacher Resources: – Teacher Resources and Professional Development (This is a great site with lots of useful videos. Also check out their free newsletter.)